Antiquities Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. REID. Mr. President, I know people are anxious to go to work on other things, but I want to talk about something called the Antiquities Act. It passed in 1906. President Theodore Roosevelt was the President at the time. Congress wanted to give him the authority to designate special lands and cultural resources as national monuments, and he did that. Since then, 16 Presidents--8 Democrats and 8 Republicans--have used this 1906 act to protect America's treasures.

For example, way back in 1922, President Harding used the Antiquities Act to protect the Lehman Caves. It is now a beautiful facility. I have been down there. They are certainly not the deepest or the biggest caves in the world, but they are unique and good, and we have enjoyed them in Nevada. That was the basis for the 1986 legislation I initiated to create a national park in Nevada. The only national park we have in Nevada is the result of the 1922 action of President Harding. That is why we have Great Basin National Park. It is a wonderful facility. It has a glacier, the oldest living things in the world, the bristlecone pines. It is a great park, and people from all over the world visit this wonderful facility. So Nevada's lone national park exists today because President Harding used the Antiquities Act to first designate the Lehman Caves.

Some Members of Congress--frankly, it is a minority--believe we should repeal or gut this bill. They advocate weakening the Presidential authority that in the past has protected the Grand Canyon and even the Statue of Liberty. Who in this body thinks America has suffered because Presidents in the past have protected the Petrified Forest in Arizona, the Craters of the Moon in Idaho, and Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Arches in Utah? I have been to all of them, and even though Utah is an extremely conservative State, I have not heard one single Member of Congress or governmental authority say they were a huge mistake. They draw millions of visitors to the State of Utah with the beautiful lands they have there. What about Muir Woods in California? It is just stunningly important, and it came about as a result of a President designating them a national treasure under the Antiquities Act.

Sixteen Presidents--eight of each party--have used this act to protect America's treasures.

I am proud of what President Obama has been able to accomplish through the work he has done under the Antiquities Act. He has moved where Congress has failed to act.

Caesar Chavez and the Chicano labor movement were honored by creating the Caesar Chavez National Monument in California.

He protected Fort Monroe in Virginia in recognition of its storied history in defense of our Nation and the struggle for freedom for African Americans. It is a beautiful facility.

We have in Honolulu the Honouliuli National Monument to remember the terrible internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Last month, President Obama protected by proclamation Pullman National Monument, which celebrates the history of the African-American labor movement in America.

As a westerner, I appreciate what he has done to protect America's beautiful landscapes, such as the Rio Grande Del Norte and the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monuments in New Mexico, the Browns Canyon National Monument in Colorado, and western landscapes in California, Washington, and Hawaii.

This is something which is so important to be done, so I am disappointed that I hear that on the budget bill there is going to be an effort made to cut the Antiquities Act. I hope not. I absolutely will do everything I can to protect this act. It has been in law since 1906 and has been used by 16 Presidents.

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